Ex-minister charged in two deaths

LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — A retired Pennsylvania pastor insists both of his wives died accidentally. Prosecutors call him a liar — and a killer.

Already facing trial in the death of his second wife, Arthur Burton "A.B." Schirmer now is charged with killing his first wife, too, after a grand jury concluded her injuries weren't consistent with a fall down the stairs, prosecutors announced yesterday.

Lebanon County District Attorney David Arnold declined to discuss a motive, but a grand jury report said that Schirmer, 64, had been unfaithful to his first wife, Jewel Schirmer, throughout their 31-year marriage. Court documents also said the couple had financial difficulties.

Schirmer's attorney said his client denies involvement in either of his wives' deaths, and released a statement from the three adult children of A.B. and Jewel Schirmer that said their father is innocent of all charges.

"We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the false accusations and allegations that have been waged against our father," the statement said. "He is a compassionate and gentle man who would never harm anyone."

Jewel Schirmer, 50, died at Hershey Medical Center of a traumatic brain injury from a supposed fall. Police and prosecutors reopened the investigation after her husband came under investigation in the 2008 death of his second wife, Betty, in the Pocono Mountains. Prosecutors in that case say Schirmer killed his second wife, then staged an auto accident to cover it up. He faces trial in January.

Jewel Schirmer's brother, who had long suspected foul play in his sister's death, welcomed the decision to charge the retired pastor in her death. "I've been waiting 13 years for this day to come," said Jonathan Behney, appearing at a news conference yesterday with Arnold. "It's time for justice."

The district attorney said he did not believe the initial 1999 investigation was botched, although he added that no inquiry is completely free of mistakes.

"Looking back today on what they knew at the time, I wouldn't feel comfortable criticizing the people who worked on it. I don't think it would be fair to them," he said. "We have different technologies available now that they didn't have then."

Technology that would help break the case.

Schirmer has long claimed he was out for a run on April 23, 1999, when he returned home to find his first wife's body in a pool of blood at the bottom of the basement steps. Jewel suffered a fractured skull as well as injuries to her face, body, arms and legs, according to a police affidavit. But the coroner made no determination at that time as to whether her death was an accident or a homicide, and the original investigation was closed after a cardiologist who evaluated her heart for transplant also concluded she had suffered a heart attack.

Taking a fresh look at the case, investigators hired a biomechanical engineering firm to recreate Jewel Schirmer's supposed fall down the stairs. The firm used a test dummy fitted with various instruments to collect data on the forces to which her tumbling body would have been subjected.

"We found the 'crash dummy' evidence to be particularly compelling, as it indicated to us that Jewel could not have suffered all of her injuries by accidentally falling down a flight of stairs," the grand jury wrote.

Another cardiologist, meanwhile, reviewed Jewel's medical records and concluded she had not suffered a heart attack, after all.

The grand jury cited medical testimony that revealed Schirmer likely used blunt objects to kill both of his wives.